Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-10


indeed seem at times as though they were the
windows of her soul. lie turned and said
something to his competitions and to the Zulu
Mouti, who went on with the cart, and then
came toward her smiling and with out
stretched hand.
allow do you do, Jess" he said $50 have
found you all rights"
She took his hand and answered, almost
angrily, "Why have you comet Why did you
leave Bessie and my unclep
IL came because | was sent. and also be-
cause | wished to. | wanted to get you back
home before Pretoria was besieged."
"Yeli must have been mad, How could
you Expect to get back. We shall both be
shut ZIP here together now"
$50 1t appears. Well, things might be
worse" he added, cheerfully.
IL do not think that anything could be
worse" she answered. with n stamp of her
foot, and then, quite thrown OF her balance,
burst incontiuently into a fool of tears.
John Mel was very simple minded man,
and it never struck him to attribute her grief
to any other cause than anxiety at the state
Of affairs and at her incarceration for an
indefinite period in a besieged town that ran
daily risk of being taken vi ct arms. Still he
was little hurt at the manner of his reccp-
ton after his long and most perilous journey,
which is not, perhaps, to DO wondered at.
"Wel, Jess he said, 81 think that you
might speak a little more kindly to me,
considering considering all things There,
don't cry, they are oil right at Mooifontein,
and dare say that we shall get back there
somehow sometime or other. / had nice
business to get here at all, can tell you"
She suddenly stopped weeping and smiled,
her tears passing away like a summer storm.
How did you get throughl" she asked. "Tell
me all about it, Capt. Mel" and accordingly
he did.
She listened in silence while he sketched the
chief events of his journey, and when he had
done she spoke in quite changed tone.
1T is very good and kind of you to have
risSed your life like this for me. Only
wonder that you did not all of you see that it
would be of no use. We shall both be shut
up here together now, that is all, and that
will be very sad for you and Bessie"
oh So you have heard of our engage
mcnt" he said.
Eyes, got Bessie's letter about q couple
of hours ago, and l congratulate you both
very much. l think that you will have the
sweetest and lovelieSt wife in South Africa,
Capt. Mel; and think that Bessie will have
husband any woman might be proud Of"
and she half bowed and half courtesied to
him as she said 1t, with graceful little air or
dignity that was very taking.
THANK YOU" he said, simply; yes, think;
| am very lucky fellow"
"And now" she said, eve had better go
and see about the cart You must be very
tired and hungry" and they started
A few minutes walk brought them to the
- ,I,, 70
Mrs. Nevilles wagon, where jess and her
friends were living, and the first person they
saw was Mrs. Neville herself She was a
good, motherly, colonial woman, accustomed
to rough life, and not easily disturbed by
an emergency like the present.
"My goodness, Capt. Nell" she cried, as
soon as jess had introduced him. "Well, you
are pucliy to have forced your way through
all those horrid Beers! / am sure | wonder
that they did not shoot you or beat you to
death with sjambocls, the blutes. Not that
there is much use in your coming, for you
will never be able to get jess back till Sir
George Collcy relieves us, and that can't be
for two months, they say Well, there is one
thing, Jess will be able to sleep in the cart
now, and you can get one of the patrol tents
and sleep alongside. 1t won't be quite pro-
blIl III lutSt lllllco we sup
to consider propriety. There, there, you go
off to the governor. He Will be glad enough
to see you, I'll be bound. | saw him at the
other end of the camp, there, five minutes
ago, and we will have the cart arranged and
see all about it."
Thus adiured John departed, and when he
returned half an hour afterward, having told
his eventful tale, which did not, however,
int Of lao
was rejoiced to find the process Of "getting
things straight" was in good progress. What
was better still, jess had fried him a beef
steak over the camp fire, and was now EN-
ploycd III serving it on little table by the
wagon. He sat down ON camp stool and
ate his meal heartily enough, while jess
waited OH him and Mrs. Neville chartered
away.
'By the way" she said, "Jess tells me you
are going to marry her sister. Well. l wish
you joy, A man wants wife in a
country like this. 1t isn't like England
where in five cases out Of six he might as well
go and cut his throat as get married. II
saves him money here, and children are a
blessing, as nature meant them to be, and
not burden, as civilization has made them.
Lord, how my tongue does run on! 1t isn't
delicate to talk about children when you have
only been engaged q couple of weeks; but
you see, that's what it all comes to after all.
She's pretty girl, Bessie, and a good one,
tool don't know her much-though she
hasn't got the brains of Jess, here. That re-
minds me; as you are engaged to Bessie, OF
course you can look after jess, and robody
will think anything of it. All! if on only
knew what place this is for talk, though
their talk is pretty well scared out of them
now, I'm thinking My husband is coming
round presently to the cart to help get Jess's
bed into it. Lucky it's big. We are such a
tight fit in that wagon that shall he down
right glad to sec the last of the dear girl
though, of course, youth both come and take
your meals with u.s."
jess heard all this in silence. She could
not well insist upon stopping in tho crowded
wagon; it would be asking too much; and
besides, she had had one night in the wagon
and that was quite enough for her. Once she
suggested that she would see if she could
not get the nuns to take her in at the convent
but Mrs. Neville instantly suppressed the
notion